PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Freshman Breanna Barksdale (Chula Vista, Calif./Eastlake) recorded 15 kills and a .481 hitting percentage but the University of Cincinnati volleyball team fell 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-19, 25-20) to Temple University at McGonigle Hall in Philadelphia, Pa., on Sunday afternoon.

Barksdale’s .481 hitting percentage is the highest of the season for a Cincinnati player recording at minimum of 10 kills. It marked the fifth match of the season with an attacking percentage above .400 for the freshman who ranks ninth in the American Athletic Conference in hitting percentage during conference matches.

Also hitting above .400 for the match was junior Me’Ashsh Nicholson (Shiloh, Ill./Belleville Althoff) who had 13 kills and a .440 mark. Combined, Nicholson and Barksdale hit a mere four attacking errors in the match.

The Bearcats hit at a .243 clip during the match, their third-highest of the season, and also recorded only 17 attacking errors, their lowest total of the season for a four or five-set match.

Defensively, Cincinnati out-blocked its opponent for the 11th time this season, 8.0 to 3.0, and forced the Owls into 20 attacking errors.

After Temple took a 1-0 match lead, Cincinnati responded in the second set, winning 25-23 to tie the match at 1-1 heading into the intermission. The Owls and Bearcats traded points for a majority of the set until Temple strung together four consecutive points to take an 11-8 lead. The margin widened to 17-12 before Cincinnati put together a run of its own. Sophomore Amelia Wegman (Aurora, Ill./Rosary) got the run started for UC with a kill, which was followed by two kills from Nicholson and an ace from Green to climb the Bearcats to within 17-16. Back-to-back kills by sophomores Wegman and Morgan Allred (Carrolton, Texas/Hebron) gave UC set-point and Allred finished it off with a kill to put the Bearcats on the scoreboard.

Temple used a 7-point scoring run to pace a 25-19 victory in game No. 3. The Bearcats held a slim 8-7 lead but were unable to stop the Owls’ momentum, including two service aces by TU’s Sandra Sydlik, and Temple jumped ahead 14-8. The Owls held a comfortable lead throughout the remainder of the game and took a 2-1 lead in the match.

Temple closed out the match winning 25-20 in the fourth game for the 3-1 math victory. The Bearcats spoiled three match point opportunities for the Owls with kills by Nicholson and Barksdale and a TU attacking error, but eventually Temple was able to put the match away on a kill.

The Owls got on the board first with a 25-20 win in the first game. Cincinnati stormed out of the gate to a 4-0 lead following a kill by Barksdale and a service ace by Nicholson. UC kept the lead for most of the set until TU scored five straight points to tie the score at 16-16. Temple took the lead for good at 20-19 on a UC attacking error and closed out the match as Cincinnati opened it, with four straight points, for the final score of 25-20.

The Bearcats will return home after a long road trip on Friday, Nov. 8 with an afternoon tilt versus conference foe SMU at 4 p.m. in Fifth Third Arena.